First lady Melania to attend Gridiron dinner with Trump

First lady Melania Trump will accompany President Donald Trump to Saturday night's ...

Posted: Mar 4, 2018 9:11 AM

Updated: Mar 4, 2018 9:11 AM

First lady Melania Trump will accompany President Donald Trump to Saturday night's annual Gridiron Club Dinner in a rare Washington outing for the first couple.

The Trumps have not been very active on the DC social scene, with the exception of a handful of dinners at the Trump International Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue, the June wedding of Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, and the Ford's Theater Annual Gala last year.

They have skirted attending galas where they might have rubbed elbows with members of the media or the Washington establishment.

Trump opted not to attend last year's Gridiron dinner, an invitation-only white-tie event where DC's journalists and politicians tell jokes and perform comedic skits poking fun at one another. The President also declined to appear at last year's White House Correspondents' Dinner.

Since the Gridiron Club's founding in 1885, it's been a tradition to invite the president to the annual dinner. Vice President Mike Pence, who was last year's featured speaker, and second lady Karen Pence also plan to be in attendance.